"Cultural vandalism
Based in the northern English city of Leeds, Northern Ballet shocked the world by announcing that, due to a lack of funds, it would henceforth be using recorded music on tour.
Founded in 1969, Northern Ballet enjoys an excellent reputation in England for its evening-long performances of action ballets. Like most major institutions, it is considered an Arts Council England Portfolio Organisation, and is therefore subsidized by public funds and National Lottery contributions. The troupe is not only popular in Leeds, where the company has had its own downtown stage since 2010, but also in many English cities, where Northern Ballet performances are regularly given. An integral part of the performances is the participation of the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, a 28-piece orchestra at home in all styles. Although the members are only engaged on a project basis, i.e. as freelancers, they remain very loyal, and in some cases have been with the orchestra for decades.
In September 2023, bad news reached the public: from April 2024 onwards, tours would have to be carried out largely without live music. The reasons for this would be inflation, the general economic crisis and the war in Ukraine, which would have disproportionately increased energy bills and transport costs on tour. The fact that almost thirty musicians would lose their livelihoods as a result was seen, albeit perhaps regretfully, as collateral damage.
Indignation and demonstrations of solidarity
Spread by members of the orchestra, the news sparked great indignation, at least among those interested in culture, and was described as "cultural vandalism" by the English musicians' union Musicians' Union. The famous composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, author of the musicals Les Misérables and Miss Saigonwho wrote Wuthering Heights and Cleopatra for Northern Ballet, said in an open letter that he had enjoyed working with Sinfonia and had been impressed by the musicians' committed playing in numerous performances across Britain. He noted that in this way, high-quality dance theater had been made accessible to thousands of people every year. Live music conveys emotion, whereas recorded music has no spontaneity and therefore makes the experience less impressive. The conductor breathes with the dancers to make the performance as exceptional as possible.
The International Federation of Musicians (FIM), whose vice-president is USDAM central secretary Beat Santschi, condemned Northern Ballet's intentions in a letter to Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley: "Replacing musicians with a recording would be a major cultural regression in a country that is renowned for the value it places on live music and the exceptional quality of its artists. It would also have a devastating effect on Northern Ballet's musicians, all of whom have intermittent contracts and a significant proportion of whose income depends on touring. Music and dance lovers the world over could not understand how Arts Council England could be a silent accomplice to this alarming situation."
Live music is an integral part of ballet
Morris Stemp, head of orchestras at the Musicians' Union, also asserted that music is an integral part of a ballet, and should not and cannot be separated from it. Sinfonia's musicians now need additional income. During the interview, he also pointed out that subsidies for Northern Ballet and other institutions urgently needed to be increased, and accused the Conservative government of not supporting culture enough. Indeed, grants are said to have fallen by around 25% in recent decades. He believes that a Labour government would undoubtedly take the concerns of cultural players more seriously.
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the Basel Symphony Orchestra have already shown their solidarity with the Sinfonia musicians by organizing actions under the banner "Keep Northern Ballet Live". Meanwhile, something seems to have moved on opposing fronts, perhaps as a result of national and international protests: on January 16, 2024, the ballet's management issued a statement announcing that the spring tour at least, with Romeo and Julietwould be performed with orchestra in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Norwich and London, and that a better solution for the future would be sought jointly with the union and the orchestra. But here too, we must remain vigilant: the ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève wishes to tour without an orchestra, but with an OSR recording, and the Opéra de Dijon has asked the USDAM to allow it to use OSR recordings of scenic music, which has been rejected due to the provisions of tariff regulation D. The USDAM Central Committee discussed the matter at its last meeting on December 22, 2023, and confirmed its position in principle, insisting that live music should be used wherever possible, and that recordings should only be used in exceptional cases.
